MEULENSTEEN VIRTUAL ACADEMY FOR COACHES AND PARENTS

STEP INSIDE RENÉ MEULENSTEEN'S VIRTUAL ACADEMY

Sir Alex Ferguson's first team coach. Coach to Ronaldo, Rooney, van Persie and Park Ji-sung. Now his virtual academy is open to coaches and parents everywhere.

▶  Take the tourStart free

Free to look around. Elite membership as a one-off payment or payment plan.

12 YEARS

at Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson

2008

Champions League and Club World Cup winner

3 TITLES

Premier League champion as first team coach

2 WORLD CUPS

with Australia (2022) and Iraq (2026)

10 COUNTRIES

coached in across Europe, Asia, the Middle East, America and Australia

JOIN RENÉ ON A TOUR THROUGH THE ACADEMY

See Academy HQ, the training pitches and everything inside before you join.

RENÉ'S COACHING CAREER

FROM MANCHESTER UNITED TO THE WORLD CUP

René spent 12 years at Manchester United, six of them working closely with Sir Alex Ferguson, and has coached at two World Cups. The methods, drills and frameworks he used with world-class players are now inside the Academy.

René Meulensteen with Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United training

With Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United

René Meulensteen with Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United

With Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United

René Meulensteen celebrating with Danny Welbeck at Manchester United

With Danny Welbeck at Manchester United

René Meulensteen with Graham Arnold as Socceroos coaches

With Graham Arnold and the Socceroos

ALSO COACHED

Wayne Rooney EnglandRobin van Persie NetherlandsPark Ji-sung South KoreaJavier "Chicharito" Hernández MexicoShinji Kagawa JapanCarlos Tevez Argentina

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"GREAT PLAYERS ARE BUILT ON GREAT SKILL DEVELOPMENT."

RENÉ MEULENSTEEN

WHAT YOU GET WITH ELITE MEMBERSHIP

THE WHOLE ACADEMY, OPEN TO COACHES AND PARENTS

Everything in this section comes with Elite membership, and Free members get a taste of every part. Many coaches are parents, and every coach works with parents. Coaches will use all of it. Parents take what suits them, from understanding what their child is learning at training to the skills they can practise together at home.

THE LEARNING PATHWAY

Develop more intelligent, creative and confident footballers with René's complete approach. A full learning pathway of 17 stops takes you through:

  • Mini lectures from René
  • Over 60 skills and drills videos and animations to watch and practise
  • Magic 7 Cone Drills linked from every move
  • Over 20 small-sided game ideas, from 1vs1 to 4vs4 variations
  • Age specific training guidelines
  • His Player Profile Model and Four Stage Development Framework from Manchester United
  • The moves, drills and games you need at training are also in the Companion App, which comes with Elite membership

THE PARENT ZONE

Access to content for topics on nutrition, physical and emotional wellbeing, dealing with young minds, and technical and tactical insights to support your young footballers. 

Help your kids practise the right way, at home, at training and on game day.

  • Built for players aged 6 to 10
  • Built around the four pillars of René's Player Profile Model: Technical, Tactical, Physical and Mental
  • Podcasts from René, plus guest experts on mindset, nutrition, sleep, confidence and resilience
  • Simple, practical ideas you can use straight away
  • Easy for coaches to share with the families in their team
  • A taste in Free membership, everything in Elite

ALSO INCLUDED WITH ELITE

Monthly Skills CompetitionBehavioural Science LabPodcasts and live webinarsRené Meulensteen's OfficeMedia CentreFergie Time CaféKey Zones on the Pitch

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INCLUDED WITH ELITE

THE BEHAVIOURAL SCIENCE LAB

Led by Dr Mike Conway, who has spent the last decade working in elite sport, helping coaches grow so they can develop their players and teams. The Lab builds on the Mental pillar of René's Player Profile Model: emotional intelligence, leadership, communication, culture and building resilience, linked to the latest research on how to build an integrated mindset. Mike's team also built the virtual Academy itself.

Elite members get 5 survey tools, 6 articles, 2 podcasts, 5 learning modules, 2 webinars and Mike's recommended reading.

"René mentioned the concept of building an integrated mindset. Well, this is the place where we can work together to do this." Dr Mike Conway

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The Meulensteen Academy Companion App home screen showing the training areas

INCLUDED WITH ELITE

THE ACADEMY IN YOUR POCKET

The Companion App comes with Elite membership. It isn't sold on its own. It's the Academy's companion for the training ground, with everything you need in the order a session runs.

Switch the players' feet on with the activation skills, open a one-versus-one move, then go straight to its Magic 7 Cone Drills and finish with small-sided games. Heart the videos you need before training so your session is ready in one place. The Parent Zone is in the app too, so you can show a parent what their child is working on right there at the ground.

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START FREE. GO ELITE WHEN YOU'RE READY.

Prices in US dollars.

FREE

Walk around the Academy and see it for yourself, as a coach or a parent.

US$0

No trial period needed. Stay on Free for as long as you like.

  • Explore the virtual Academy
  • A taste of every part of the Academy, including the Parent Zone
Start free

ELITE

The whole Academy, for coaches and parents.

US$99

12 months access. Pay once, or in 4 monthly payments of US$27 (US$108 in total).

This is a payment plan, not a subscription. Payments stop after the fourth one and nothing renews.

  • Everything in Free
  • A 17-stop learning pathway with mini lectures and over 60 skills and drills videos and animations
  • Magic 7 Cone Drills and over 20 small-sided game ideas
  • Full Parent Zone content
  • The Companion App, included with Elite and not sold separately
Join Elite: US$99 once Join Elite: 4 x US$27
Compare Free and Elite
What's included Free Elite
Access No time limit 12 months
Introduction by René Meulensteen ✓ ✓
The Research Introduction ✓
Skills Development Introduction ✓
General Training Guidelines Introduction ✓
Dominating 1v1 Situations Introduction Full video series: from the front, side, behind and at an angle
Player Profile Model and Four Stage Development Model – ✓
Activation Drills – ✓
Training Guidelines 6–9, 10–12, 13–15 and 16–18 – ✓
The Parent Zone A taste ✓
The Companion App – ✓
Behavioural Science Lab Introduction, 2 survey tools, 6 articles, 2 podcasts Introduction, 5 survey tools, 6 articles, 2 podcasts, 5 learning modules, 2 webinars
René Meulensteen's Office – ✓
Media Centre – ✓
Fergie Time Café – ✓
Key Zones on the Pitch – ✓
Monthly Skills Competition – ✓
Podcasts and live webinars – ✓
Newsletter ✓ ✓

What coaches say about the Meulensteen Virtual Academy

“Excellent and immediately transferable to the training ground. Within one to two weeks my players were using the moves in matches, with clear improvement across most of the squad.”

Andrew Findlay, Technical Director, Whitehorse United SC, VIC, Australia

“The activation activities were excellent for engagement. I particularly liked the way the skills were introduced using a whole-part-whole approach. This structure worked very well with our young players.”

Brian Roberts, Staff Coach, Illinois State Olympic Development Program and Midwest Region, Boys Director, Pegasus FC, USA

“Having introduced this incredible programme into our Academy space the improvement in ball mastery and their technical ability has increased considerably. Coaches find navigation across the platform user friendly and look forward to the next phase.”

Martyn Griffiths, Academy Director, Terrigal United, NSW, Australia

OUR PARTNERS

XVenture: Creating Winning Minds